Steel Bladed Roses
by JonnyStarwind
Summary: My first multi-chapter OP fanfic. This is a pre- and post-Luffy being Pirate King story. They say only fools fall in love, however it seems our most knowledgeable person can be quite the fool too. RoZo, many more to come in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: How Intriguing

**Chapter 1: How Intriguing**

As the crew left the land of sand and the home of their nakama Nefertari Vivi, the crew became surprised by the new member that forcefully joined the crew. Nico Robin, formerly known as Ms. All Sunday, had held Luffy to blame for making her live, so as punishment, she made Luffy accept her as a crew member. As she managed to persuade her new shipmates into accepting her with jewels, her beauty, or her Devil's Fruit powers, there was always one member who defied them all, and he was always on his guard. Roronoa Zoro. The name of this man had struck fear into those who had heard and know of this sort of living myth. A man said to be a demon in human form, whose ruthlessness knew no bounds. He was a truly terrifying man by word of mouth. However, this green-haired man knew not to be intimidated by this woman, but there was something about her that caught his attention. Truly, though he was still a teenager, he is the most mature out of the original crew, exuding a sense of Confucian wisdom and providing insight to his fellow crew mates when it concerned aspects of honor, respect, and a warrior's code.

Nico Robin spent her short time on the ship getting to know her new crew. She tended to seek knowledge wherever it laid, whether in a book or a person's memory. She managed to not scare the ship's doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, anymore as well as learn about Drum Island. She was amused by the wild imaginative stories of the ship's gunner and sniper, Usopp. Getting anything from Sanji, the ship's cook, was easy, thanks to her natural beauty and his ineptitude to tell a lady no. The ship's, as well as hers, captain, Monkey D. Luffy, was a simple enough man to get information from. He was a very straightforward young man who spoke his mind without a shadow of doubt. This only left one person, and he was adamant about the distance between the two of them. She only knew four things about this young man, thanks to her tenacity of information collecting: he trained, he slept a lot, he is the first mate, and he treasures the white sword of all three of his swords the most. She stared at the man as he began his overhead swings with the weight at over five hundred pounds. His swings catch her attention, as the clinking sound of the weights are cast across the deck of the Going Merry on a particular day as she sat there reading one of her books in her deck chair.

The archaeologist's eyes scanned over the young swordsman's body, looking him over from head to toe. His eyes fixated forward, filled with determination and the look one gives their enemies. His mouth controlling his breathing and counting out his swings with an exaggeration on the final syllable of the current repetition, two hundred sixTEEN. The muscles in his arms tensed as he held up the massive weight above his head and swung it out in front of him. His chest had beads of sweat traverse down his body, some of them following the trail of the scar on his chest which led her eyes to the next location. His stomach was flat and toned, showing his sense of commitment to maintaining his body as a weapon as well as his skills to wield his swords. His legs, though shrouded in his pants, could still be seen made out to be tensed and strong as his stance was as sturdy as a mountain to brace the sheer wait his arms held up. As her eyes scanned back up to see his face, he glanced over to confirm his suspicion that he was being watched by the older woman. As their eyes connected, they conveyed different responses. Zoro's response was that of disdain to being watched by his new "crew member" while Robin's was that of being caught and seeming to not be shy about it. She gave him one of her mysterious smiles which made the young man slightly embarrassed and a bit of redness escaped onto his cheeks. As the kenjutsuka looked away and began to head below deck to wash up, the koukogakusha had a smile creep up on her face as she had a slight chuckle as she thought about the possible reasoning behind his reaction. She spoke aloud to herself with that smile still on her face. _**"How intriguing."**_


	2. Chapter 2: That Damn Woman

**Chapter 2: That Damn Woman**

_"How could Luffy allow this woman to join? She was Crocodile's partner. What was he thinking?"_ These thoughts have passed through Zoro's mind ever since the crew had increased in size, courtesy of the archaeologist. Everyday, he kept his guard up whenever that woman was around. They had recently fought with her and her cohorts no more than a couple of weeks ago, so how is it that everyone has already accepted her as if it never happened? He watched it all unfold in front of him when she first arrived. She gave jewels to that miserly navigator Nami, used her femininity on that dumb ass ero-cook Sanji, and entertained those childish fools Usopp, Chopper, and his captain Luffy with her Devil's Fruit powers. He didn't understand why they all allowed this to happen. With this going on, he took it upon himself to keep that woman in check and keep his eye on her.

However, fortune seemed to smile and mock Zoro's task, for the crew's newest adventure would lead them to a place deemed impossible: an island in the sky. After their altercation with Bellamy and Sarquiss in the bar at Mock Town, they were led to a small house on the opposite end of the island of Jaya. During the evening of before their trip, they were informed by Montblanc Cricket that they must find a special bird for their next leg of the journey, a South Bird. They decided to split into three groups: Usopp, Nami, and Sanji; Luffy and Chopper; and Zoro and Robin. As much as Zoro despised being near this woman, he felt that if anyone needed to be with her, it should be him since he is the most capable of handling himself against her. During this task of finding the bird, Zoro had to put up with her comments, especially the ones that embarrassed him, such as pointing out that he was walking in the wrong direction. He knows that his direction skills aren't the best in the world, but to be reminded by this woman, Zoro couldn't very well take this without a slight bit of embarrassment. Nevertheless, they managed to obtain the bird and prepare for their journey, while Luffy made a side journey to recover Cricket's gold from Bellamy.

The crew, with the South Bird and a repaired ship, flew into the sky and ventured into the world known as Skypeia. As the group met with Conis and her father Pagaya, they encountered the White Berets which led to the capture of Robin, Nami, Chopper, and Zoro as well as their ship to be punished by the god Eneru and his priests. As they fought against the priests with surprising strength and abilities with the assistance of the former god Gan Fall and the Shandians, the crew begins a search of the area to locate the others. Once again, Fortune laughs at Zoro as he once again finds himself with Robin, but this time, Gan Fall, Nami, and the Shandian Wiper are also in the grouping as they come face to face with Eneru. Zoro watched as Eneru electrocuted Gan Fall with thirty million volts thanks to his Devil's Fruit power over lightning. His attention changed to Robin as she began to converse with the god of Skypeia, only to have a bolt of lightning shot at her due to her apparent "shallowness" as Eneru put it. On impulse, Zoro caught her before she hit the ground. In this brief moment, he had forgotten about what she had been before and only saw her as Nico Robin, member of the Straw Hats. On the following impulse, he launched an attack at Eneru, resulting in him being electrocuted twice.

As he laid unconsciously on the ground, his mind began to wander. He didn't realize that Luffy had tried to wake him, or that Robin had awaken and moved him to a safer spot. All that played through his mind at that moment was why he caught that woman before she could hit the ground. He was certain that he felt nothing for her, not even as a member of the crew but as an outsider. Why did he do it? He had a very strange feeling that he could not describe as of yet come up as he delved deeper into his reasoning behind it. _"Why did I get angry at that Eneru guy when he attacked her? Why did I catch her? Why am I thinking about her? That damn woman."_


	3. Chapter 3: The Descending Sunrise

**Chapter 3: The Descending Sunrise**

Zoro regained his consciousness as he looked up to see Robin holding Chopper as lightning crashed randomly all across the land known as Skypeia. As he helped himself up, his active mind from his sleep concerning the reasoning for catching Robin was at ease to see the raven-haired woman slightly charred but otherwise okay.

"_That's a bit of a relief."_ thought Zoro as he let out a sigh. _"Wait, why did I just think that? I mean, I know she's a member of the crew, but I feel better knowing that she's alright. Why is that?"_ he thought. He continued to ponder his thoughts as he heard of the plan to topple the beanstalk. He carried out the plan as he best he could, only to be stopped by another bolt of lightning from the fake god Eneru. He awoke again to hear the sound of the bell being rung by his captain. **"That's a nice sound"** he muttered as he leaned against the fallen beanstalk.

As the various groups from this land of the sky came together, a party to celebrate the victory over the false god Eneru as well as the end of the war between the Shandians and the Skypeians. Zoro competed against various people in a drinking contest. Luffy ate as always. Chopper and Usopp danced as Sanji flirted and danced with the sky island natives. Nami laughed and cheered along with the natives. Robin sat off to the side, smiling at the whole event of the party as well as writing down some notes on the translations she had done on the ruins.

"_**This truly is an interesting development."**_ she said as she took a drink. She began to think about her latest findings from the red-haired navigator. How Zoro had caught her from falling. **_"I wonder."_**

"**What are you babbling on about now, Robin?"** said Zoro as he walked over to where Robin was sitting, carrying a tankard of rum in his hand. He had finished the drinking competition, triumphant in his drinking prowess over the Skypeians and Shandians. Robin's eyebrow peaked as she turned towards the swordsman.

"_**And here I thought you couldn't say my name, Kenshi-san."**_ said the archaeologist as she sipped on her drink. Zoro's eyebrow twitched as she called him by his title instead of his name.

"**You didn't answer my question, woman."** he said as he went back to his usual way of talking to Robin. She felt a bit offended by the change in title.

"_**I was wondering about what happened earlier after Eneru electrocuted me. From what I heard, you caught me, Kenshi-san."**_ said the raven-haired woman as she sipped her drink. She watched Zoro's reaction as he nearly spat up his rum. His eyebrow twitched again in response to his title to her.

"**If you must know, I caught you out of sheer instinct. I did it on impulse. Not to mention, it is low to attack a woman."** he said with a straight face as he sipped his rum again, feeling the burn down the back of his throat from the liquid. **"Now, my next question."** he started to say.

"_**I believe I get to ask the next question. Why do you get riled when I call you Kenshi-san, Kenshi-san?"**_ said the older lady with her mysterious smile as she looked at the green-haired man. His eyebrow twitched once more at the mentioning of the title.

"**I find it disheartening that you can't call us by our names. Especially me."** he said, letting the last bit slip out on accident. _"Why the hell did I say that?"_ he thought as Robin picked up on the verbal slip.

"_**In all of my years, I have learned not to get close to people, so as a barrier, I call people by their titles instead. To protect myself from others. Do you wish for me to get closer to you?"**_ she said as she leaned in towards Zoro. Zoro backed his head back as he began to grow red in the cheeks.

"**Oi oi oi. I would just prefer that, if you want a person's trust, then you use their name."** he said as he tried to regain his composure through coughing and drinking. Robin's face was open to his suggestion, although she was a bit drunk from the party.

"_**Alright then. If you wish, would you like for me to call you by your name in private while I call you by the usual title when the crew is around, Zoro?"**_ she said with a flare on the pronunciation of Zoro's name. His face shot beet red and steam nearly shot out of his ears from how she said his name.

"**That,"** he said as he coughed, **"I believe can work, Robin"** he said as he downed his rum. The party continued on through the night.

Early in the morning, the crew collected up as much gold as they could, not knowing of what the natives were about to give them. They fled and were led to Cloud's End by Conis, her father Pagaya, and her sky-fox Suu. As they fell over the edge of the cloud's, the ship was caught by a sky-octopus, which inflated and acted as a balloon, lowering them down to the Grand Line ten kilometers below them. As they floated down to the sea below, the crew caught sight of a rarity that can only be done while falling at the right time, and this sight set a mood between Robin and Zoro as they glanced at each other, now having a greater respect and sense of togetherness for each other. They both turned back to the sight that set a mood between them, the likes of which can only lead to more. All thanks to that sight of the descending sunrise.


	4. Chapter 4: This Peculiar Emotion

**Chapter 4: This Peculiar Emotion**

The ship known as the Merry Go landed in the bay of the Marine base Navarone G-8. After a series of events to include Zoro sweeping the halls, Sanji competing against the chefs in a cook-off, and Chopper playing doctor with Nami as his nurse, the crew managed to escape from this fortress and arrived to an island where everything was long. And I mean loooooooooooooooooooooooong. While on the island known as Longland, they encountered the Foxy Pirates led by Foxy the Silver Fox, an odd man with an odd hairstyle and a Devil's Fruit ability that is odd yet devastating. The Strawhats battled the Foxy Pirates in a series of games where the winners claim a crew member from the losing team after each round. After two 3-game series, the Strawhats emerged victorious, claiming 497 of the Foxy Pirates, the Foxy Pirates' flag, Chopper, and Robin, the latter 2 had been lost in the previous rounds. Zoro breathed a sigh of relief as he had witnessed the winning back of their archaeologist.

"_**So, the great swordsman does get worried from time to time."**_ said the older lady as she sat in her lounge chair on the dock, looking over to the younger man as he trained. A smile playfully danced on her lips.

"**Oi. I was worried that we would lose one of our nakama."** said the swordsman as he set his weights down and wiped the sweat off of him. He kept the towel on his face for a little bit longer, waiting for the redness that had invaded his cheeks to go away.

"**Zoro!!"** shouted their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, a strange young boy with Devil's fruit powers and a dream of extreme grandeur. **"I need to talk with you." **said the young man as he began to pull his first mate off to the side.

"**Sure thing Luffy."** he said as he looked back towards Robin. **"We'll finish this conversation later."** he said as he continued to be dragged off by his eager captain.

As the duo of Luffy and Zoro went to another section of the ship, the ship's meteorological-savvy navigator Nami walked up and sat down next to Robin. **"Hey Robin, I have a question to ask you."** said the orange-haired girl as she looked at the raven-haired woman.

"_**What is it, Kokaishi-san?"**_ responded the older woman as she returned the look back. The current fidgety nature of their usually calm navigator piqued her interest.

"**I think I like someone as more than a nakama."** said the raven-haired boy as he looked at his green-haired first mate for answers. They had receded to the men's bedroom since it is currently unoccupied by any of the others.

"**Wh-wh-why are you telling me this? I don't know anything about this."** said Zoro, even though he was battling these same issues currently as well. **"Who is it?"** asked the swordsman.

"**Do you think Sanji is really interested in me?"** asked the navigator as she began to blush a bit. She felt embarrassed asking the older woman if the cook/pervert was interested in only one woman.

"_**Well, that is a very interesting question, Kokaishi-san. Does that mean that you are interested in Cook-san?"**_ she said with a smile as she watched the young girl's skin began to redden like an apple. A chuckle escaped from her lips as she continued to watch the navigator sweat.

"**Vivi. It's Vivi."** he said, clearly and bluntly. The captain was not known for his subtlety or shyness, but rather his straightforwardness.

"**Vivi, huh? When did you realize this?"** asked the swordsman as he went over to his bunk and pulled out a bottle of sake.

"**What if I was to say that I am?"** said Nami as she looked over at the chuckling Robin.

"_**Well, then I might be able to help you out a little bit more."**_ said the archaeologist as she sipped on her coffee that sat upon the table next to her.

Zoro spat out some of his sake as he heard Luffy's response. **"Since you first met her!? You mean when she was trying to kill us, you especially?"** said the swordsman as he wiped the spat-up sake from his lips.

"**Well, something was different about her that made my heart beat all funny-like."** he said as he wiped some of the sake off of his face. **"But after seeing how you and Robin act around each other, it made me think about her more than before and..."** he said as Zoro stopped him.

"**Oi. There is nothing going on between me and Robin." ** he said with a straightforward face. He was trying hard to hide his conflicting feeling for the older woman and was doing pretty good, or so he thought.

"**Well, what about you and a certain swordsman? Don't think that I haven't noticed how you two have been behaving recently."** said the navigator as a grin crept upon her lips this time. However, Robin was as calm and collected as ever, so she wasn't outwardly phased by Nami's statement.

"_**I have no idea what you mean, Kokaishi-san, but as far as Cook-san is concerned, I can talk with him if you like, or maybe even get one of the others to ask." **_ she said as she sipped her coffee.

"**Oh, you mean like your man, Zoro?"** said the young girl with a grin near the size of Luffy's which caused the older woman to pause in her sipping of the coffee. **"I'll wait for a response, Robin-onee-chan."** she said with a chuckle as she walked back to her map room, knowing that she had finally caught Robin.

"**Anyway, why don't you ask Usopp? I mean, he does have Kaya and he sends her letters and calls her when he can during our visits on islands with the capabilities."** said Zoro as he used Usopp as a scapegoat.

"**Of course. Why didn't I think of that?"** said the captain as he hopped up off of the bed and made his way to the door. **"By the way, Zoro. You shouldn't fight them. Your emotions. They are a part of you and will never betray you."** said the raven-haired as he ran out the door, hollering Usopp's name.

Zoro began to redden. **"What the..."** he muttered to himself as he sat on the bed staring at the open door leading to the hallway. He became lost in thought as he went over his captain's statement. **"How can a swordsman, who has trained everyday to be tough, allow himself to become soft by this peculiar emotion?"**


End file.
